Picks: Cats vs. Pens, Wild vs. Blues

35-30-1: Tons of scoring last night! Too bad J.P. Dumont and his 5 points showed up to play and ruined the Sens bet. It seems as if no bet is safe in hockey right now, even when a team averaging only 1.5 goals per game rolls into your building. Perfect 2-0 on the game totals though! Just a few games tonight, each team is starting their first game of back-to-back sets so we’re getting a look at some backups tonight.

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Florida Panthers +180 at Pittsburgh Penguins -220

Looks like Brent Johnson is getting the start for the Pens tonight. Last time he started the Pens stunk up Mellon with a 3-0 loss to the Coyotes (1 EN goal). I’m not expecting the Pens to forget how to score again tonight. In fact, it should be quite the opposite. No matter which Florida goalie is in net, the Panthers’ D seems to fail them – they allow the most shots in the league, 36.6, and average 3.86 goals allowed per game (a whalloping 4.3 on the road). The Pens, on the other hand, average 2.11 goals allowed but that is with Team Canada goalie favourite Marc-Andre Fleury getting all but one of the starts. Last season’s matchups should dictate this story as both games played in Pittsburgh totaled 7 goals and the Pens averaged 40 shots on net. The game total has gone over in 2 of Florida’s 3 road games so far this season. If Fleury was in net I’d be all for the under but Johnson starting tips the scale a bit more towards the over.Pick: Over 6.0 goals -105

Minnesota Wild +135 at St. Louis Blues -155

Both of these teams need a kickstart here as the Wild have won 1 of their last 6 and the Blues have won 1 of their last 5. However, neither team really deserves to be in any better position. Minnesota’s only two wins have come in OT or shootout and have totaled 3 or more goalies only 3 times in 8 games. The Blues’ offense doesn’t fair much better, only hitting the 3+ mark 3 times in 7 games (twice against the struggling Wings’ D in Sweden). Fortunately for the Blues, their D has been on par with their offense, only allowing 2.86 goals per game. Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom has a 2.81 GAA (0 wins)on the road this year, while Blues probable starter Chris Mason has a 2.54 GAA (0 wins).Pick: Under 5.5 goals -125